Screen-door catch.



R. G. WINTER.

SCREEN DOORCAJCH.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 13. 1915.

Patented June 4, 1918.-

specification.

RUDOLPH G. WINTER, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

SCREEN-DOOR CATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1918;

Application filed December 13, 1915. Serial No. 66,52 0%.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDoLPI-I Gr. WINTER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee'and State of iVisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Screen- Door Catch, of which the following is a This invention relates to devices used for catching and holding a swinging door in its closed position to prevent it from slamming or being swung open by the wind. Such devices are especially adaptable to screen doors which are closed by a spring, but are also applicable to various other kinds of doors, which are operated under like conditions.

Screen doors are made of very light construction so that they are easily swayed by the wind, and unless kept closed, they fail of their function in keeping out insects. On the other hand, it is undesirable to have an ordinary latch which requires manipulation in order to open the door. Moreover, the noise of slamming caused by the shutting of the door by a spring isobjectionable.

This invention provides for the catching and holding of the door as it swings to, and also the cushioning thereof thus preventing it from slamming while at the same time permitting it to be readily opened by a push or pull. Such devices must necessarily be made very cheaply in order to be marketable, and it is therefore a principal object of this invention to produce an effective device so cheap that it can be readily marketed in large quantities.

The present device is an improvement upon the device of U. S. Letters Patent 1,008,098, granted Nov. 7, 1911.

In that patent is disclosed a device consisting of two pieces, each having a pair of cam ears which interlock one with the other, one of said pieces being fastened to the door, the other being pivotally mounted on the door frame in such position that the two pairs of cam ears would mutually engage as the door swings shut.

The present invention simplifies that device by eliminating one pair of cam ears and substituting therefor a spring acting on the pivoted piece, besides making the remaining pair of cam ears of a different form such that it will perform the function of both pairs in the aforesaid patent.

This invention may be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings showing the most improved form thereof, in

which,

Figures land 2 are each a front elevation of the catch with portions of the door and jamb on which the catch is mounted, the parts in Fig. being shown in the initial engaging position and in Fig. 2 in the final tionary manner a member C which is of sheet metal and is secured by screws 0 in a fixed manner'to the door. On the casing or jamb B is mounted a plate D, also secured in a fixed manner thereto by flat-headed screws al and further by the round-headed screws E and F- which perform also other functions. I

The screw F performs the function of a pivot for the member G which is mounted thereon and the members C andG form the two interengaging elements which comprise the essential parts of this catch. The member Gr, like the member C, is preferably of sheet metal, and a washer H.is placed between it and the head of the screw F to fix the plane of rotation more per fectly.

The member C has an outwardly projecting ear c whose end is cut oif obliquely as shown and is preferably turned up as shown at c to facilitate the movement and to avoid friction in engaging the corresponding element of the member G. The latter has also an extension, which is turned up approximately at right angles to the plane of rotation to form the cam ear 9, and the form of the engaging surface of said ear is to be particularly noted. It will be seen from Figs. 3 and 4 that the inner part g of the surface which is nearest to the jamb B, has a slope from the casing outwardly toward the member 0, while the outer or end portion of the surface 9 has a slope in the opposite direction. On some part of the member G, as the ear 9 is caused to act a spring I, this spring as herein shown being colled about the shank of the screw E and having one end i resting against an abutment lug or car d which is pressed up from the metal of the member D, and the other end 2' against the inner side of the cam car 9 the effect of this construction being to give the member G a tendency to turn upon 1ts pivot which brings it into the position of Fig. 1 when not otherwise restrained, a lug (Z or other form of limiting stop being provided to limitthe swinging of the member G to that position.

When the door is open the member G will naturally assume the position of Fig. 1. As the door swings closed (which may be caused either by spring or counterweight or by,

, to ch'eckthe momentum of the door as the member Gr is forced back, and this is brought about-both by the force acting upon the spring Ito eo'il it up, and also by the friction between the two surfaces 0 and 9 By the time the surface 0 has reached the sun face 9 the momentum. of the door is sufficiently checked to prevent slamming, and

further movement of the door into full 7 closedrposit'ion is now no longer checked but rather accelerated so as to insure its full closure, because such further action causes the releaseof the spring I to a slight extent. New engagement of the care in this position with the overhanging cam surface '9 providessufficient force to prevent thedoor being opened by the "wind, but not so much force as to prevent it from being'readily opened by a pull upon the door knob or handle, which overcomes the force of the spring I sufficiently to carry ear 0 over the end of the surface 9 to the cushion M of the aforesaid patent and therefore need not here be again described.

VVhi'le herein has been shown and described the most improved form of the invention, it is not desired to be limited to this exact form, but that the invention cover any form within the scope of the claim.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent, r

In a screendoor-catch, two parts comprising a door and its casing, a stationary memher on one of said parts, a pivotally movable me'mber on the sideof theother of said parts nearest said first part when the door is open, said pivoted member having a cam ear with oppositely sloping cam surfaces alined to be coa ictable with the stationary member, and one of said surfaces being of gradnalslope to retard the closing ofth'e door and the other being of steep slope to retard the opening of the door, and means assisting said pivoted member to a position where it may be engaged by said stationary member. i 1

In testimony whereof, the signature of the inventor is aifixed hereto.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five-cents each, by addressing the ""Qommissionei' of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

